Back in 2013, Apple released a seemingly revolutionary desktop computer: the cylindrical Mac Pro. It was beautiful and powerful, although it did resemble a garbage can. The problem? Apple neglected the computer, letting it stagnate.
Then, in 2016, it released new MacBook Pro laptops, but many professionals panned the device for being under-powered. Ultimately, it seemed like Apple didn’t care about desktop-needing professionals among us.
At a small roundtable discussion in Cupertino this month, Apple execs Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi and John Ternus spoke with a group of journalists about the roadmap for various Apple products, during which Apple let slip that it’s working on a re-imagined version of its Mac Pro desktop in order to answer the demands of its most hardcore power users.
“These next-gen Mac Pros and pro displays ‘will not ship this year.’ (I hope that means ‘next year’, but all Apple said was ‘not this year.’) In the meantime, Apple is today releasing meager speed-bump updates to the existing Mac Pros,” reads a report from Daring Fireball.
We can confirm Apple Canada will also have these new Mac Pro models when they are announced, most likely in 2018.
“The $2999 model goes from 4 Xeon CPU cores to 6, and from dual AMD G300 GPUs to dual G500 GPUs. The $3999 model goes from 6 CPU cores to 8, and from dual D500 GPUs to dual D800 GPUs,” the report continues. “Nothing else is changing, including the ports. No USB-C, no Thunderbolt 3 (and so no support for the LG UltraFine 5K display).”
“We’re in the process of completely rethinking the Mac Pro,” Schiller told Mashable. Apple noted that while the current Mac Pro introduced a compact, quiet and thermal-friendly design, it also turned off certain customers who needed more customization and power.
In hindsight, the Mac Pro was maybe an example of form over function – a criticism of the new MacBook Pro, too. While aesthetics are important, we must remember that computers are tools before anything. Hopefully the redesigned Mac Pro will make professional macOS users satisfied.
